


Swaying Fate

by xdee13x



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:19:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4814729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xdee13x/pseuds/xdee13x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after Kuvira surrenders herself to the Republic, she remains in jail awaiting the trial that will decide the rest of her life. Korra has been coaching her and keeping her company in her cell. Now as the trial date quickly approaches, the two see each other in a new light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Spark

Korra grumbled softly as she sat up and tossed the blankets that covered her to the side. Rubbing her swollen eyes, she glanced over at Naga who would normally be jumping to her side, but was still fast asleep. She gave one quick glance at the discarded letter on her nightstand before forcing herself out of bed, down the hall, and into the shower. 

Once she had finished washing herself, she turned the knob and let the icy cold water run down her skin. She closed her eyes feeling at home under the cool touch of the water, taking deep breaths to calm her heart. Finally she turned the water off and began readying herself for the day. After dressing herself she took a look in the mirror and frowned seeing the dark bags under her puffy eyes, it was definitely something she wouldn’t be able to hide. Hopefully people would just avoid asking questions. 

A stirring beside her and a big wet tongue snapped her out of her thoughts and she chuckled softly, turning to meet her big excited furry friend. 

“Good Morning, Naga.” She said with a big smile, “Sorry I won’t be around much today, I’m heading over to the prison.” 

Her sentence was met with whimpers and a soft nudge of the polar bear dog’s nose which only made Korra chuckle again, “Sorry, girl, I can’t bring you. Last time you almost gave that new guard a heart attack, I don’t think they’re used to having large ferocious furballs around.” 

She whimpered again and lowered her head. If she could speak she’d probably explain that that guard had some cured meats on him and she had only knocked him over to ask for some. She got a little excited, it wasn’t her fault- she forgot she was big sometimes. 

“On the bright side..” The Avatar started as grabbed her glider, opened the door to her room and began walking down the hall, “The kids are staying home today, so you’ll have plenty of people to play with.”

At that, Naga’s tail began to wag and she took of at a sprint down the hall and straight out the doors making her way to the grass and happily sniffing along while Korra continued her walk. Once she was far enough away from the building she took off at a run before taking off on her glider in the direction of the mountains. They created a special prison for Kuvira, even though Korra said it wasn’t necessary, that was pretty much a giant box made of platinum. It was large and ugly looking, and it was tunneled down deep below the towering mountains. 

As Korra landed nearby she was greeted by a couple guards and she waved as she hurried past them. Each time she returned she found herself laughing a bit, when she’d first started visiting Kuvira they were always so strict with her. They always searched her belongings and confiscated her glider and went on and on about the rules of the prison. But now that Kuvira had made it clear she was serving her time without struggle, the Avatar came a went as she pleased.

Once she had reached the actual holding cell, the guards let her in and closed the door behind her quickly. Once the heavy doors slammed behind her, the lights went on and Korra sighed softly. 

“There you are. I was starting to wonder if you were going to come today.” 

“You know I wouldn’t miss hanging out with my favorite ex-dictator.” Korra grinned innocently as she moved to take a seat on the ground where she usually sat, while Kuvira shot her a death glare from her bed. 

The glare only lasted a moment though because the former captain quickly noticed the fatigued look on the usually perky southerner’s face. Her eyes were swollen and even though she seemed like her usual happy-go-lucky self, something was off about her aura. 

“Are you alright?” Kuvira asked as she moved to sit on the ground across from the Avatar, crossing her legs under her as she idly braided her long black hair to the side. “You don’t look so good..” It was a nice way of saying she looked a complete wreck.

“I don’t wanna talk about it..” Korra found herself looking away as she grumbled something incoherent to herself. She was here to help Kuvira and she didn’t think talking about herself did anyone any good. 

“So you expect me to flood you with constant stories and delve deeper into  _my_  feelings but you won’t tell me about yours..?” The metalbender raised an eyebrow meeting Korra’s defiant gaze with one of her own, “That hardly seems fair, and here I  _thought_  we were becoming friends..” 

Korra’s lower lip jutted out in a pout and she glared stubbornly at her former opponent, silently hoping she would change the subject. When she didn’t however, the Avatar sighed in defeat. Pulling her legs up to her chest she hugged them close, “I didn’t want to bore you with stories about the Avatar’s stupid heart break..”

_Heart break?_ Kuvira felt her eyes widen only slightly at the word before she sighed and scooted a bit closer to put a hand on her knee, “Did something happen with Asami?” 

“What didn’t happen with Asami is the better question!” Throwing her hands up, Korra covered her head and smacked her forehead against her knees dramatically. Once the room grew awkwardly silent she sighed again and began spilling everything, “We broke up, and not on good terms.. She’s going on this two year long trip to meet potential clients and meet up with some of the greatest engineers all over the world. It’s a real big deal for her. She asked me if I wanted to go along and I had to say no because I’m the Avatar and the Avatar has duties here.. Well she was pretty upset about it, so upset that I didn’t think it was a good idea to see her last night when she left. But she wrote me letter and she was just so angry and hurt and she left so many things in the air. I just feel like such a failure..” 

It didn’t make things better between her and Asami that she’d been visiting the former dictator for some time now, she had made it clear her feelings and stance on the matter from the start. Asami had not forgotten the terrible things the Great Uniter had done, and despite all her progress, deep down she would never really forgive Kuvira for killing her father. Korra knew her choosing to stay in Republic City made Asami feel like her girlfriend was choosing Kuvira over her, and Korra hated to admit it, but it was the truth. 

Another big sigh escaped her throat and she glanced over at Kuvira, who now had a mixed expression of guilt and sadness all over her features. Neither of them knew what to say for the moment, so Korra just finished, “I know it’s great for her, it’s great for her company and I want so badly for her to do well, I just wish–”

“You wish you could go with her and be a part of her happiness.” Kuvira answered softly, glancing back over to meet the Avatar’s watery gaze. “I get it, I get why you’re upset. I’m sorry you felt you had to stay here, I hope it wasn’t because of me. I don’t deserve the Avatar’s help as it is, I don’t want you to miss out on  _love_ ” … _because of me_.

“No, it’s not  _just_  you.” An argument she’d been telling herself over the last couple of days, “As much as I love Asami and wanted to be with her it just didn’t– it _couldn’t_  work out. Republic City still needs me, I can’t just up and leave again. The last time I left for three years you saw what happened!” Korra threw her arms up dramatically before she realized who exactly she was talking to and started to laugh softly while Kuvira shot her another glare. 

“Yes, you were  _gone_  and I took over the Earth Kingdom. I get your  _point_.” 

The two sat in silence again for a few minutes. Lately after all their time together they had been finding themselves becoming more and more accustom to each other’s presence. When Korra had first started visiting they tried to find things to talk about, to pass the time, to fill the awkward air, but now it seemed more and more like they could just enjoy each other’s company. 

“Thanks for listening..” Korra finally said softly, pushing her legs down and crossing them beneath her. “I feel a little better now with all that stuff off my chest.” 

“See? You’re always telling me I need to say what’s on my mind, maybe you should follow your own advice.” The former dictator mocked, the corners of her lips curving up just slightly. 

Korra just matched the woman’s grin with a smile of her own, catching the metalbender off guard when she didn’t immediately retort with another snarky comment. 

“What?” Kuvira asked with another arch of her eyebrow, “Do I have something on my face..?” 

The southerner just shook her head, chuckling softly as she did, “I just like when you smile. You’ve been doing it a lot lately.” 

_Well I have a new reason to.._  The metalbender felt the heat rush to her face and she looked away, pushing down the initial thought that crossed her mind. She felt guilty that Korra seemed so heartbroken and confused, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little bit happy that she had decided to stay.  

“Hey! I didn’t know you could blush!” 

“Shut up,  _Avatar_..” 

  
  



	2. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I miss these two. This Chapter is going to be another cutesy one before we get into the serious shit. Some flashbacks of the first time Korra visits Kuvira in the prison, some new Varrick inventions-ish. Featuring everyone’s favorite Chief of police and the beautiful Kya for just a moment.

_“You’ll need to be careful in there, Avatar Korra, we don’t know how she might react to you being in the room with her. She usually turns people away, she likes to be left alone.”_

_“Don’t worry about me. Just open the doors.”_

_“But—”_

_“I said it’s **fine** , open them.”   
_

_The giant platinum doors slowly swung outwards, causing the Avatar to take a step back to avoid being hit. In the meantime, the doors behind her swung closed with a loud thud. Extra security to hold the extra dangerous traitor. Or so Korra had repeatedly been explained on her briefing before she was actually allowed below ground._

_The southerner _was allowed to take only a few steps in before the second batch of doors closed tight behind her. B_ lue eyes squinted as they adjusted to the dim lighting of the room. The loud screech of the metal causing her to inwardly flinch away from the terrible sound taking another blind step forward and colliding with another body with a loud thud causing the ever-so-graceful Avatar to fall back onto her rear with an ‘OOF’._

_Narrowed eyes glanced upward only to meet with perfectly furrowed brows and a cold emerald stare that **almost**  made the bender freeze in her spot. That was, until that cold gaze recognized the woman who had fallen to the floor causing her gaze to immediately soften before taking a step back._

_“..Korra?”  Kuvira questioned, her defensive tone slathered with disbelief. “What are you doing here?”  
_

_“I’m here to visit. I told you that I would, don’t you remember?” Korra found herself chuckling as she jumped up and dusted herself off before reaching out to place her hand on Kuvira’s shoulder, “I know it’s been a while but I said I’d be here for you and I will be.”  
_

_Every muscle, every thought, everything seemed to come screeching to a halt once Kuvira felt Korra’s hand rest on her shoulder. It had been so long since she’d last felt something as simple as another’s touch and for some odd reason Korra was always so eager to give it, even when it was unwarranted._

_—_ _—_ _—_

The soft squeeze of the hand on her shoulder was enough to snap her back to reality, Kuvira felt her face flush slightly as she turned her body to meet the Avatar’s eager gaze, pulling her legs up onto the bed and sitting cross-legged across Korra who was doing the same.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” The Avatar said as her hand dropped back into her lap and her smile grew from ear to ear. 

“A surprise..?” Kuvira arched a brow, her voice wary of the word.

“Yeah! It’s a good one I promise.” Korra reassured the former dictator by reaching out to take one of her hands, a gesture that Kuvira had surprisingly become quite accustomed to over the last year. Absent-mindedly the Avatar began to examine her fingers, playing with her hand as she continued, “I got Lin to agree to let me take you out for a night.”

The former dictator’s brow only arched more at the implication, a sly smirk spreading across her lips before she questioned, “Lin gave you permission to ‘take me out’?”

Korra paused for a moment. She probably could have worded that better.

“You know what I meant! Take you out of  _here_ , as in  _outside_ , as in away from this prison. You know, fresh air, night sky, nature, unless you’ve forgotten all that exists outside this tiny unbendable  _box_.” A light blush spread across her cheeks and she instinctually punched Kuvira’s shoulder lightly.

“That must have taken  _some_  convincing..” The metalbender reached up to rub her shoulder, her lips curving down to form a slight frown. “How did you manage to do that..?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Korra said quickly before reaching out to push Kuvira gently, directing her to turn so that she was facing her back. Once she was facing the wall, the Avatar quickly went to work, running her hands through the other’s long locks of hair, forming sections and braiding it down her back.

Kuvira felt her face grow hot as the Avatar took her time grooming her as she had often made a habit of doing. She found herself thanking the spirits that her back was turned and that the Avatar couldn’t see her face. She’d never admit it, but she liked when Korra gave her this sort of attention, she enjoyed having those hands threading through her hair, each of the Avatar’s subtle touches (whether they were intended or not) made her heart race. The only time she ever remembered feeling this way was once before— back in Zaofu with Bataar.

That name brought on an entirely new wave of feelings that she quickly tried to push into the back of her mind. It had been almost a full year since the day that Kuvira’s marched her army into Republic City and since then her relationship with the Beifongs had remained tense. Suyin had come to visit once before returning to Zaofu with her family to rebuild the home that the Great Uniter had destroyed. Her former fiancé, Bataar, had been reluctant to visit her at first, but the day he did finally decide to visit was an emotional one for them both. Not only had she almost killed the man she had loved, but she betrayed the closest thing to a family and destroyed the only home she’d ever known. Though she was trying hard to forget the past and atone for her actions, she still harbored intense guilt about everything.

“There! All done.”

Kuvira was snapped out of her thoughts when a long braid was tossed over her shoulder. Reaching up slowly she took the end of it and admired the Avatar’s work. It wasn’t perfect of course, but it wasn’t bad.

“Not bad. You’re getting better at this.” She commented with a smirk, turning around to face Korra again before standing and looking around to find her shoes and slip them on.

“Well, you know… Avatar, Master of hair bending here.”  Korra added with a soft chuckle before turning to dangle her legs off the bed, slipping her own boots on and standing up to stretch.

Once Kuvira was ready she walked over to her and made a face, reaching up to rub the back of her neck before holding up her bag. “So… there is  _one_  catch to me being allowed to bring you outside.”

The former dictator raised an eyebrow, “…And that is?”

“These..” Korra pulled some platinum cuffs out of her bag and dangled them at arms length away from her body, holding the chain between two fingers like she was handling something sticky, squishy, and disgusting. “I tried to get Beifong to change her mind, but she was already pulling a lot of strings by just allowing me to do this, President Raiko was less than pleased by the idea so you get my drift..”

Kuvira’s expression immediately dropped- but only for a second because, without even realizing it, Korra was already utilizing her most practiced and perfect pleading puppy dog eyes. Grumbling softly, the metal bender simply held both her arms out, allowing the cuffs to be put on her wrists without a fuss before lowering them in from of her with a slight pout before mumbling, “Whatever you’re taking me outside for better be good..”

“It will be, promise.” Korra said before turning to the doorway and banging the metal walls loudly with her fist before waiting for a response. After a moment the large doors slowly opened, revealing the long path up to the surface. “Come on!” She urged, giving Kuvira a quick nudge with her elbow once she noticed the other hesitate for just a moment.

The walk to the surface was quick and, surprisingly, as painless as could be. Each of the doors had been left open at Korra’s request, with each of the usual guards at different check points no where to be found. Usually when Kuvira was led anywhere, she was led in chains and the guards would be ont heir highest defense, making a spectacle of their most notorious prisoner. It seemed that Korra had taken into account every detail in order to give Kuvira a good day, even though she was taking a huge risk dismissing the guards and allowing her time to be free. It was odd to her that the Avatar held her to such a high degree of trust. How easy would it be once they reached the surface to just use her earth bending to incapacitate the Avatar and make a hasty escape. She’d be long gone before any help would be able to arrive.

She felt her hands clench and she inwardly cursed herself for her fleeting thoughts as they slowly stepped out into the quickly disappearing light of day. Korra had not only saved her life, but she’d shown her nothing but kindness since her imprisonment here outside the city. Kuvira would never dream of betraying her trust in such a way.

The gentle evening light made the transition from her dim cold prison to the outside world that much easier as she followed after the Avatar who seemed to be hurrying to the top of the mountain. Kuvira was about to inquire as to where exactly they were headed, when a voice pierced the air behind them causing the both of them to stop and turn around. The first voice wasn’t so familiar to her, but the second caused the metal bender’s spine to stiffen.

“Ah! There they are!”

“You’re late! You said you’d have her out an  _hour_  ago!”

“Sorry, Lin, we ate dinner first and were talking and I got distracted.” Korra stepped forward between them, putting her hands on her waist before raising an eyebrow at the fourth person standing beside the Chief. “Kya, it’s good to see you again!“ She greeted, grinning goofily before adding, “What are you doing here?”

“Lin invited me to watch the show with her while she was plays guard duty.” The older woman put a hand on her hip before tilting her head to glance over Korra’s shoulder at Kuvira who quickly looked away to avoid eye contact.

“Oh, she did, did she?” Korra raised an eyebrow before a mischievous grin took over her face, “So since you two are out here alone, it’s like a date then?”

Kya chuckled and Lin’s face immediately flared up.

“Don’t make me regret letting you do this,  _Avatar._ ” The Chief snapped, shooting the younger girl a glare before turning with a huff and grabbing Kya by her wrist. “Don’t think of trying anything funny, Kuvira, I’ll be down here watching.” She warned as she dragged the water bender along, who only shrugged and waved to them.

Korra chuckled some more before turning and motioning Kuvira towards the top of the hill. “Come on, the show should be starting soon.”

“Show?” The metal bender raised a curious brow now, but only followed after the excited Avatar who bounded up the steep hill in a couple of quick jumps. Once they reached the top there was a blanket laid out that Korra fell back on with a loud thud. Once Kuvira reached it, she sat down as well before tilting her head slightly. “What is this show everyone is talking about?”

“Republic City is celebrating the end of the clean up and the grand re-opening of the city. There’s going to be all sorts of fireworks and Varrick has this whole light show with music to go along with it. According to the Chief we should be able to see it from here.” Korra sat up sighing softly as they observed the city below a moment before Korra pointed int he direction of the new spirit portal. “They made the area around the portal a giant plaza, the ground and walls around it are covered with all kinds of art and stuff. When you get to see it, you’ll hardly even recognize that you’re in the same Republic City as before.”

Kuvira only snorted. Korra always spoke to her as if she wasn’t a prisoner and like she would be able to just go out and visit the city sometime soon. That was probably why she enjoyed her company so much, the Avatar had always treated her not only like a person, but like a friend. She fidgeting a little bit, the shackles were cold on her wrist and she played with the chain, causing it to rattle. “I’m glad everything seems to be in better shape. It’s easier to look at the city now that everything has been cleaned and fixed.”

The sound of the metal drew Korra’s bright blue eyes down and she took a quick look around, mostly making sure Lin was no where within eyeshot before quickly unlocking the cuffs around Kuvira’s wrists and placing them quietly on the ground beside them. Reaching up she held her finger to her lips, signaling her to stay quiet so the Chief wouldn’t notice.

Before Kuvira could respond, what appeared to be a spark shot up into the dark sky. Both of their attentions were drawn to it just as it exploded creating a large ring of blue and a roar of applause from the city. The pop made the two jump, each inching just a little closer to the other out of surprise. Unaware of their close proximity, Korra’s hand landed on Kuvira’s and they both froze, unsure of whether to pull away or do anything. Instead of deciding, the two just sat awkwardly, stiff as boards while they watched the show. More and more fireworks shot into the sky, each popping and exploding in different ways and creating different colors and shapes. There were bright spotlights that shone and along with the faintest sound of music that they could just barely make out.

“So…” Feeling a bit more relaxed now that the cuffs were off, Kuvira chuckled before turning her head towards the other, a little bit of teasing couldn’t hurt, “Since we’re alone out here, does that mean this is some kind of _date_?”

“ _Wha_ -” Korra’s cheeks immediately reddened and she shook her head quickly, “No,  _no,_ I was _just_ -”

“I’m only teasing, Avatar.” Kuvira chuckled again leaning a bit closer, her eyes lingering on the other’s red face for a moment longer than she intended before turning away to continue watching the fireworks light up the sky. “Even if it isn’t. This was nice..  _Thank you_.”

Smiling, Korra moved her hand, waiting for Kuvira to lift her own before taking it again this time lacing their fingers together. When the former dictator shot her a surprised look, the Avatar only grinned wide, giving her hand a squeeze before replying, “You’re welcome.”


End file.
